KURT COOK, US ARMY

The Racing for Heroes Baja trip in April 2016 was simply amazing! I was fortunate enough to have seven veterans, several whom I have met for the first time, race across the famed Baja 1000 course in Wide Open Baja Challenge cars. Being around fellow veterans who suffer from the crippling effects of PTS, was not depressing, but rather invigorating! I have spent many of days, weeks wondering if I was the only one who had these thoughts, depression, anxiety, and a false sense of purpose. Racing the cars on the desert track was part of it and when the days ride concluded, the bonding commenced. Sitting at the dinner table and after, the only thing heard was laughter. The old adage, “laughter is the best medicine” is spot on in this setting. We sat not wondering about anything, no one as depressed, and even though we just met days prior, as an outsider listening, you would have thought we grew up together. - Kurt Cook, Major, US Army Special Forces (ret.)